Promoting positive emotions among university EFL learners

Research indicates that investigation into the role of emotions during the process of second language acquisition (SLA) has lagged behind the work of educational psychologists. Experts in the area of achievement emotions have suggested that SLA researchers have limited their examination mostly to the role of anxiety and enjoyment. Consequently, an action research project was carried out, first, to determine whether emotions in addition to anxiety and enjoyment tend to arise when learning a second language (L2). Second, 13 advanced English as a foreign language (EFL) learners at a university in Mexico participated in 4 tasks as part of their class over the first 9 weeks of the semester, and subsequently were interviewed about their emotional experience. The tasks included a 45-s mindfulness activity, a reflection designed to promote a growth mindset, a discussion of a famous bilingual individual, and free voluntary reading. The findings revealed that a variety of achievement emotions emerged during the course, and in particular, in response to the learning tasks. It was concluded that not only can SLA researchers benefit from the strides made in psychology regarding emotions, but also that L2 educators should help L2 students experience pleasant achievement emotions by including activities of the sort described in this study.

Free Voluntary Reading and the Role of the Teacher Librarian

This paper attempts to do three things: Investigate recent research that outlines a relationship between free voluntary reading, or pleasure reading, and student achievement. Link these findings to my own research into the role of the teacher- librarian in creating a positive reading environment, and Detail some of the programs and initiatives that can support us in engaging students with their reading.

Measuring the educational value of comic books from the school librarians’ perspective: A region-wide quantitative study in Taiwan

Comic books and their characters are an integral part of popular culture. However, comic books, as educational material, still remain controversial in certain education systems, as this medium is regarded by some as sheer entertainment – thereby hindering students’ motivation to seek out other more formal, text-based literature to read. For this study, a region-wide questionnaire survey was sent out to explore school librarians’ perceptions and attitudes towards the educational value of comic books in Taiwan. A total of 789 responses were collected for this questionnaire survey study. The regression model was used to identify the causal relationship between different genres of comic books and students’ voluntary reading and learning incentives in the context of the school library. Findings from this study suggest that comic books (1) carry the potential to attract more students to visit the school library after class, (2) facilitate students’ reading comprehension skills and (3) foster students’ interest in voluntary reading. Because of this medium’s visual-based and serialised narrative approach to storytelling, findings of this study also suggest that comic books could function as a reading motivational tool, particularly useful in helping their students learn about the subjects of History and Science.

Dostoevsky on Twitter: Twitterfiction as a Learning Tool in SLA

The article examines the benefits of twitterfiction, a relatively new form of literary production, as a means of second language acquisition in the context of recreational reading. Pushed forward by the influential American educational researcher Stephen Krashen, free voluntary reading (FVR) has been proven to be an extremely powerful factor in developing various aspects of second language competence and getting students committed to reading more. This paper attempts to evaluate both quantitative and qualitative complexity measures of twitterfiction as in the case of TWITTERATURE by Alexander Aciman and Emmett Rensin to better understand the educational potential of the above type of prose. Readability formulas such as the Gunning Fog index and the Coleman-Liau index are deployed to evaluate the structural complexity of the text. ‘Attentive reading’, being a subjective factor in many ways, is a tool we apply to assess the text on the levels of semantics and pragmatics. The research concludes that twitterfiction, as demonstrated in the book, is an adequate ESL supplementary material alongside comics, graphic novels and level 4 graded readers.

Free Voluntary Reading and Comprehensible Input

Three and a half years into my journey of using Comprehensible Input and leaving the textbook behind, I started doing research on Free Voluntary Reading. As a child, I had greatly enjoyed reading and it was something my students had a hard time grasping. Similarly, my own brother nearly stopped reading all together when his school adopted the Accelerated Reader program, which assigns points for reading and testing on books. His love for reading was later reignited when, as a family, we started reading the Harry Potter series. I want my own students to have a similar experience and enjoy reading.

Extensive Reading Culture Through Better Writing and Publishing Attributes

Content, narrative flow and physical attributes of a book could contribute to what readers take away from a reading episode. Reading episodes support or discourage the cultivation of positive reading. Thus, writing and publishing features of a book implicitly elicit response that could induce or deter reading reprises. This study examines the association between writing and publishing elements and reading enjoyment. Data were derived from a questionnaire administered to second year undergraduate students after a thorough reading project. Findings suggest that writers and publishers can attract potential readers by paying attention to meeting their needs for pleasurable reading experience. The study affirms that reading episodes have potential influence on reading attitude and motivation and readers exposed to good books can cultivate voluntary reading habits.

Design and Implantation of a Voluntary Reading Mobile Application for People who are Visually Impaired

This paper proposed an application that supports visually impaired users in the community by providing voluntary audio support for readable content. The application, Basirah, allows visually impaired users to post audio request for reading text. Volunteers are able to view these requests and offer their response as recorded audio links. The application is developed for iOS devices and supports requests in English and allows for multi-lingual responses for volunteers. This paper presents Basirah and walks through the analysis, design, and testing phases of development. Preliminary testing was carried out on Basirah, where it has shown promising results and contribution.

Free Voluntary Reading: Promoting Vocabulary Learning and Self-Directedness

This action research study focuses on measuring the impact of a Free Voluntary Reading Program on students’ active vocabulary use and self-direction in language learning in two different programs of English as a foreign language. The impetus for this research came from close observation and a needs analysis that confirmed students’ reluctant attitude towards reading, due to deficiency in vocabulary, as well as the limited access to books of their interest in the target language. The implementation of the program took place in blended classes in two university contexts, with 14 and 11 students respectively. All the students from both universities were classified in the A1 level according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and their ages ranged from 16-21 years. The data was collected using a pretest and a posttest, students’ diaries, pre and post implementation surveys and book reviews. The program attempted to promote extensive reading, self-direction, reading habits, vocabulary gain and a more positive attitude towards written stories.